Coated Paper Shakeup

Almost exactly a year after announcing its plans, Verso Corp. has finally completed its acquisition of NewPage Holdings, North America’s largest coated paper producer. This gives the producer of printing and specialty papers approximately $3.5 billion in annual sales and about 5,800 employees in eight mills across six states and makes Verso the largest manufacturer of coated paper in the U.S.

To satisfy the U.S Justice Department, which felt the sale would give the combined company too large a market share, NewPage was required to sell two mills. So immediately prior to the acquisition, NewPage completed the divestiture of its paper mill in Biron, WI, and its pulp and paper mill in Rumford, ME, to Catalyst Paper Operations, a subsidiary of Catalyst Paper.

“The combination of Verso and NewPage creates a stronger, more stable company with an effective strategy to weather industry headwinds and reduce operating costs, while ensuring our customers continue to benefit from the distinctive quality and service that they have come to expect from us,” says David Paterson, Verso’s president and CEO.

Promptly after the NewPage acquisition was completed, Verso changed its name from Verso Paper Corp. to Verso Corp., symbolizing Verso’s intention to broaden its business platform and seek alternative revenue streams to augment its core printing papers, specialty papers and pulp segments.